TUESDAY, APRIL 16, 2024
In just two months, ten fishing vessels from the neighbouring States have been seized for illegally fishing in Goa’s territorial waters. As per the State Fisheries Department, fishermen from Karnataka are more frequently found straying into Goa’s waters than fishermen of any other State, leading to the department to write to its Karnataka counterpart to take action. The action that Karnataka can take remains quite ambiguous. Goa has written to Karnataka, but can’t it do more? The question is pertinent as in mid-November after a couple of trawlers from neighbouring States had been caught fishing in Goa's territorial waters, Goa Fisheries Minister had said vigilance would be stepped up. After that, towards the end of November, four more trawlers were similarly caught. This could be because of the heightened vigilance that the minister had promised, but what about prevention? Will we wait for incidents to happen and impound? Can’t the State do anything to prevent?
The territorial waters extend up to 12 nautical miles from the coast and, this is pertinent, come under the ambit of the State government, not the Centre. Beyond these 12 nautical miles, exists the exclusive economic zone (EEZ) that extends up to 200 miles from a country’s coastline that under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) is reserved for the country’s exploration and use of marine resources, including energy production from water and wind. At this time we are not concerned with the EEZ but only the territorial waters, and it is here that the State has to not just increase vigilance, but take measures to ensure that the marine resources are not poached by fishermen from elsewhere.
Goa’s role in fisheries and fishing regulation is set to increase in the near future and the State has to step up its management of the marine resources and fishing. For starters, the Centre is considering regulating fishing in the elusive economic zone, and one of the provisions that will be brought about is the issue of licences for fishing in this zone so as to curb illegal fishing by other countries. Under the rules of the proposed bill for regulation of fishing in the exclusive economic zone, it will be State governments that will issue licences for fishing in the zone as per the Central government’s direction. This is because all fishermen who desire to fish in the EEZ will have to cross the territorial waters which are governed by the States.
Besides this, earlier in the year the Centre had proposed an investment of Rs 400 crore towards the revival of the fisheries sector in the State. The grant was aimed at turning the State, which has a long coast line, into a ‘fishing hub’ in the country. The announcement had included the carrot that Goa has the potential of becoming the biggest fish exporter in the country and that Rs 41.47 crore had already been sanctioned to Goa. If fisheries in the State is set for a revival, the local government bodies would need to improve their managerial skills by quite a few notches.
In all these changes that are slated to come about, Goa’s traditional fishermen cannot be ignored. They have always been at a disadvantage since the advent of mechanised fishing and hence if trawlers from other States keep straying into Goan territorial waters the traditional fishermen will further see fish resources depleting. Any long-term plans for the fishing industry – the fishing hub for instance – must include the traditional fishermen and their issues taken into consideration when formulating policies and rules. In fact, before the fishing hub can turn into a reality, the government has to put an end to illegal fishing into Goa’s territorial waters by boats from other States.
